Staple fiber preparation



June 2, 1942. N s- CAMPBELL 2,284,635

ST'APLE FIBER PREPARATION Filed June 14, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet l A TTORNEYS.

June 2, 1942. N. s. CAMPBELL STAPLE FIBER PREPARATION 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 14, 1940 ew NNW e zii OWN MKJW @SN N INVENTOR. IVe/90x? 63 (a/We// Bymw mw A TroRNEYs.

June 2, 1942. N s, CAMPBELL 2,284,635

STAPLE FIBER PREPARATION Filed June 14, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 BY ywlzw A TTORNEYS.

June 2, l942 N. s. CAMPBELL .STPLE FIBER PREPARATION Filed June 14, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Y INVENmR.

/l/e/a faY/W/ae// ATTORNEYS.

June 2 1942. N. s. CAMPBELL 2,284,635

sTAPLE FIBER PREPARATION Filed June 14, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 ff /y ATTORNEYS.

June 2;;l 1942.

N. s. CAMPBELL 2,284,635

STAPLE FIBER PREPARATON Filed June 14, 1940 9 Sheets-Shes?I 6 INV EN TOR.

A TTDRNEYS.

June 2,

N. S. CAMPBELL STAPLE FIBER PREPARATION Filed June 14, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 pm mill INVENTOR. ,Afef/Sofi :S favvo/ ATTORNEYS.

June 2 1942 N. s. CAMPBELL 2,284,635

STAPLE FIBER PREPARATI'O Filed June 14, 1940 Y 9 sheets-sheet 8 A TTORNEYS.

June 2, 1942 N. s. CAMPBELL i 2,284,535

STAPLE FIBER PREPARATION A TTORNEYS.

Patented June 2, 1942 OFFICE STAPLE FIBER PREPARATION Nelson Stuart Campbell, Brookline, Mass.

Application June 14, 1940, serial No. 340,415 In France September 9, 1939 19 Claims.

This invention relates to one step in the formation of a staple liber sliver by the treatment of a group of a large number of filaments in a form somewhat similar to the usual sliver except that each filament is in a form which is commonly called a "continuous length.

This case is a continuation-impart of my application Serial No. 252,597, filed Jan. 24, 1939.

For convenience in this description, I will call the large number or group o f continuous iilaments, which are somewhat like a sliver, a ropa although they have no twist. The filaments which are thus referred to are either natural, such as silk, or artificial, which at the present time are often referred to as synthetic filaments, such, for example, as rayon, Celanese, Bemberg, or any others which may hereafter be developed. When these ropes are laid side by side and in contact either as one layer or as more than one layer with a combined Width substantially greater than the thickness of the layer, I will call this mass of filaments a web I'he term staple fiber will be used for the iilaments after cut so as to form substantially equal lengths of fibers in the work. After the web has been changed in shape from a ribbon-like formation into a substantially round cross-section and is formed of staple fiber, I will refer to the product as sliver which may or may not have twist in it.

An object of the complete process is the simplifying of the process of converting groups of continuous length fibers into slivers of spinnable length bers by the elimination of one or more of the steps which it is customary to employ and thus causing a saving in both the machinery and sliver so as to make it possible to feed the sliverv from the package to` the next operation without licking.

Another more specific object of the invention is to so arrange the application of the false twist mechanism that false twist will positively be put in and held during packaging.

Another object of the invention is to twist or false twist the sliver by suitable movement of means which at the same time feed the sliver forward.

Another object of the invention is to twist the sliver -by a rotation of a feeding means which nips the sliver and so holds the sliver at and beyond the point of nipping the sliver as to retain the twist placed in the sliver up to the point of nip. .A further object of the invention is to alternately rotate or oscillate the feeding means for twisting the sliver and to hold the twist put in the sliver by rotation or oscillation of feeding means in one direction and to then allow the bers freedom to receive additional twist by the opposite direction of rotation or oscillation.

A further object of the invention is to so drive the conveying means for the fibers during false .twisting that a constant forward movement will be imparted to the bers even though they are being revolved in one direction or the other direction.

A still further specific object of the invention is to place false twist in the sliver by oppositely reciprocating belts which roll the sliver and at the same time feed the same.

A still further object of the invention is to drive a feeding means and revolve the same about the axis of the sliver in opposite directions which would normally cause a difference in the drivingr speed of the feeding means dependent upon the direction of revolution, and to utilize the motion -given to the alternate revolution of the feeding means for the iibers to cause a compensating movement for the transmission of drive to the feeding means to thereby move the fibers forward in the same direction at a constant rate regardless of the direction of rotation of the feeding means for the iibers.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is' a diagrammatic view largely in side elevation illustrating the Various steps of operation upon the fibers as they emerge from the balls or tops of continuous lengths and are packaged in a staple fiber sliver form;

Fig, 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. l with parts removed for clearness; v

Fig. 3 is a schematic view illustrating the drive for the moving parts of the apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a fragmental portion of the apparatus showingth'e condenser and one form of controller, illustrating the drive for the controller;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4 and showing but a portion of the controller and adding a portion of the gill;

Fig. 6 is a'view looking substantially on line 6-'6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. '7 is a central sectional view of the controller illustrated in Fig'. 4;

`vFig. 8` is a sectional view on line. 8-8 of Fig, 7; Fig. 9 is a sectional view on line 9-9 of Fig. 7; Fig. lll-is a sectional View on line ill-I of Fig. 7;

Fig. 11 is a sectional Fig.

Fig. 12 is a top plan view of a modified form of the condenser;

Fig. 13 is a top plan view of a different form of controller from that heretofore described;

Fig. 14 is a section on line I4|4 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a fragmental View illustrating one of the belts utilized and taken on substantially line l5-I5 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is a section on substantially line IB-IS of Fig. 13;

Fig. 1'7 is a section on substantially line I'l-ll of Fig. 13;

Fig. 18 is a sectional View through the reversing gear mechanism;

Fig. 19 is a section on line lll-I9 of Fig. 18;

Fig. 20 is a section on line 20-20 of Fig. 18;

Fig. 21 is a section on line 2I-2I of Fig. 18;

Fig. 22 is a section on line 22-22 ofFig. 20;

Fig. 23 is a view similar to Fig. 18 showing a modified form of reversing gear mechanism;

Fig. 24 is a. top plan view of a portion of the packaging mechanism and illustrating the delivery end of the controller of Fig. 13;

Fig. 25 is a schematic View on substantially line II-Il of Fig. 16 illustrating the aprons for feeding the work; and

Fig. 26 is a section on line 26-26 of Fig. 24..

In working with synthetic fibers, it is found that these fibers are wild and unruly and have little cohesion one for the other. Therefore, they must be treated in a manner somewhat different from the natural fibers of Wool or the like Where such cohesion is much greater and the fibers will stick together. I also nd that very little friction may be satisfactorily used to operate upon these synthetic wild and unruly fibers as they do not well respond to friction upon their surfaces and further that a twist or false twist is applied to the fibers with difficulty because of their very nature, and in order to avoid some of these difficulties, I have provided an apparatus to grip and control the fibers and feed them continuously through the apparatus while a knife operating obliquely to the line of travel of the work plane is caused to sever the fibers while these fibers are maintained in a generally parallel direction after which the sections of severed` fibers are passed through a drawing operation and are then view on line II--ll of condensed into sliver form and falsely twisted.v

The condensing is performed by traveling aprons without any pinching of the fibers in their passage through the condenser and the false twist is put in the sliver in a new manner. Ordinarily, if a point in a running sliver is gripped and twisted while the sliver is slipping through the grip, the head of the twist on the portion approaching the twisting point will be in one direction and the tail of the twist on the portion leaving the twisting point will be in the other direction so that if the end of the sliver is not turning no twist actually results and what false twist occurs is neutralized. I, however, will retate the sliver in opposite directions and instead of holding the fibers at a single point for twisting, I will grip and hold the bers through a substantial extent of feeding of the fibers while the gripping and holding means rotate the sliver to put in false twist and I s0 proportion and time the mechanism that the feed or travel of the sliver while held is equal to the time which it takes to revolve the sliver in one direction by the feeding means so that the twisting means will have the opposite movement to operate upon the tail of the twist of the sliver and thus will impart more false twist to the sliver instead of taking out the head of the twist already put in, and I then package the sliver before an opportunity is afforded to relieve the false twist put in by a fast traversing package to lay the sliver at substantially right angles so that I have a package of a coherent sliver twisted sufficiently so that it may be drawn from the package without licking for further operation. These manipulations form a sliver which is-in draftable form and may be directly put into an apparatus for further drawing without the necessity of passing the same through a card to straighten the staple fiber, thereby eliminating a great deal of waste and breaking of the fiber which has heretofore been occasioned, the same being accomplished with a minimum amount of opposing friction and accordingly a minimum amount of tendency to break the ber as it is passed through the apparatus; and the following is a more detailed description of the present embodiment of this invention, illustrating the preferred means by which these advantageous results may be accomplished.

The apparatus consists essentially of a means for feeding the ropes into web form and thence through the various operations, a means for cutting the work obliquely or diagonally to the path of its travel through the apparatus, a drafting of the fibers in Web form after cut, a condensing of the fibers into sliver form, and an imparting of false twist to the sliver and then packaging the same. This particular application is directed to the false twisting of the sliver, the entire process being claimed in my application, Serial No. 396,676, and other parts being claimed in other copending applications.

With reference to the drawings, I have illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 a supply l5 shown conventionally of continuous length synthetic laments, such, for instance, as rayon ropes, although I do not limit myself to rayon, and which ropes may be drawn from a plurality of balls or tops which are packaged in length of up to one thousand yards or the like. This supply may lead from several different balls through a pair of feed rolls I6, I1 and laid in a web form as at I8 in a trough i9 or, if desired, upon a traveling apron for conveying this web-like formation of continuous length filaments to a cutginng apparatus which I will designate generally This cutting apparatus consists of a pair of receiving rolls 2|, 22 and a pair of delivery rolls 23, 24. While between these two pairs of rolls there are helical cutters 25, 26 with shearing cooperating cutting ribs 21 and 28 which act upon the web to form an oblique cut 29 across the web. The drums 25 and 26 are so related as to apply suicient pressure upon the web so as not only to feed it forward but also to prevent any sidewise movement of the web, due to the helical action of the shear upon the web, while the preventing of any such lateral movement is assisted by the pressure of the receiving and delivery rolls at either side of the point of the performance of the cutting act, the latter being sufficiently close to grip the severed fibers as a grip by the drums 25 and 26 is relinquished. This is all more fully described in my Patent No. 2,172.359,

dated September 12, 1939 which I- refer to herein for a fuller explanation of the details of this part of my apparatus.

The web after being cut obliquely as at 28 is in the form of a plurality of parallelogram sections 30 extending one past the other substantially the length of their longitudinal side and are fed to a drawing apparatus of some suitable type, such as, for example, a gilling machine designated generally 58 either by reason of the close proximity of the cutting device 28 thereto, or by a pair of traveling aprons 40 each embracing rolls 4| and 42, one of which is driven and which receives the web in the form of the cut sections 30 and delivers the web in this form to the receiving rolls 5I and 52 of the gilling apparatus.

This gilling apparatus is of a type well known in the trade and is adopted bodily into the flow line of the work for the performance of its customary function. It consists of intersecting upper faller bars 53 with pins 54 and the lower faller bars 55 with pins 56, the pins of which extend into the work in intersecting relation to hold the cut staple fibers as they pass through the machine; that is, the bars are cam actuated into working position and fed forward by reason of the helically-grooved members 51, see Fig. 2. The delivery or drawing off rolls 58 and 59 with apron are rotated at a surface speed greater than the travel of the needles or pins 54 and 56 so as to cause an attenuating action on the bers as they are delivered through the rolls 58 and 58. 1 have not 'attempted to go into a detailed description of the gilling apparatus as the device alone is known. Up to this point, the web of staple fibers is in a flat ribbon-like formation and it is now desirable that it be condensed and a new unit is proposed in the apparatus for this purpose which I will refer to as a condenser or dynamic funnel.

The condenser The condenser consists of a bed plate 6I which supports two driving rolls 62 and 63 which are driven from a rotating part of adjacent apparatus, such as by means of sprocket gear 84, sprocket ihain 65, sprocket gear 66, shaft 61, spiral gears 68 and 69, the latter of which is on shaft 10 of the roll 63. A gear 1| drives the corresponding gear 12 on the shaft of the roll 62 by intermeshing intermediate gears 13 and 14 in plan view in Fig. 4.

A belt 15 extends about the roll 62 and also about idler rolls 16 and 11 t0 dispose the belt in generally triangular formation with the workengaging span 18 of the belt at an angle to the direction of movement of the work through the apparatus. A belt 18 extends about the pulley 83 and also about idler pulleys 88 and `8| which are mounted on one arm 82 of an L-shaped bracket 83 which has its other arm 84 pivoted as at 85 outside of the area enclosed by the belt 18. One work-engaging span 86 of this belt is likewise angularly disposed with reference to the direction of travel of the work so that both workengaging spans of belts 18 and 86 form a V-v any material which passes between these pulleys although allowing a swinging of the belt 18 away from the belt15 at this location to accommodate varying amounts ofwork which may pass through or between these rolls.

The usual depending apron which encircles the roll 58 of this gilling apparatus is designated 88 and instead of depending as usual is extended over an idler roll 88 and over a plate 80 which is supported from the bed plate 6| by means of uprights 8l. The span 83 of this apron is so located that it will be beneath the inclined spans 18 and 86 so as to support Work which leaves the gills and passes between the delivery rolls 58 and 59 and entersbetween the converging belts 18 and 86 although it is short of the termination of these converging belts as idlers 11, are beyond the end of this supporting belt enabling the idlers 11, 80 to be of a small diameter.

The work which is received from the gill in the form of a flat ribbon-like web of greater breadth than thickness will be transformed into a ropelike sliver as it is delivered from the belts and through the rolls 11 and 80 to the false twisting apparatus designated generally |00.

The apron 88 is suitably tensioned by pulley supported by member 86 adjustable by threaded rod 81 and nut 88 and supported on bracket 98 from the framework 84. In the modification illustrated in Fig. 12 the conveyor belt depends from the roll 59 in the usual manner and a separate roll 58' is provided which supports a belt 88' driven in some suitable manner such, as for instance, that previously described and tensioned as also previously described. In this instance the belt 88' is separate from the belt 88 of the gilling apparatus and the condenser unit is by this arrangement completely independent.

The triangular arrangement of. tlie aprons permits the span which extends over and moves with the apron 88 to converge the bers while the returning spans 18 and 86 are spaced clear of this apron and will not contact or wear on the same. As the spans 18 and 86 of the angular formation have a greater distance to travel than the straight line of the span 93 of the apron 88 these aprons will be caused to travel slightly faster to cause the vertical aprons and horizontal apron to travel at the same uniform speed which may be accomplished by reason of the constant angle to the direction of feed. By reason of the arrangement here provided the capacity for receiving and operating upon wide ribbon or web of work is had. Less licking of the fiber willA be had by use of vertically disposed aprons.

The controller After the web of fibers is condensed by the dynamic funnel just above described into sliver form 266, it is desirable that there be put into the sliver some twist or false twist for purposes of enabling the sliver to be led from one place to another and be packaged so that it may be fed oil later without licking, and I pass sliver from this dynamic funnel` directly into what I term controller here designated generally |80.

Under most conditions a controller such as I have illustrated in Figs. 13 to 17 may be used. This controller consists essentially of a pair of traveling aprons which receive the sliver 266 between the aprons and feed it through at a fixed speed. As the traveling aprons feed the sliver forwardly they are reciprocated in opposite directions so as to roll the sliver between the aprons as it is traveling through them and impart a false twist to the sliver just before it enters the aprons and just as it leaves the aprons. During the time that the sliver is between the aprons and is being rolled no twist is imparted to this portion of the sliver so held between the aprons. of time of reciprocation of the aprons in one direction is the same as the length of time for the feed of a point on the sliver through the aprons whereby the sliver is held against losing any false twist put in the head of the sliver by the reciprocation of the aprons in the same direction and operating upon the tail of the twist. Further twist is added when the sliver leaves the feedholding aprons as these aprons will be reciprocated oppositely to add further false twist in the same direction when the sliver leaves the aprons.

The controller for accomplishing this result consists generally of a pair of traveling aprons to which power is applied to move the apron forwardly to feed the work and reciprocate the aprons oppositely. First, the aprons receive the sliver from the funnel or other previous mechanism and feed it through at a fixedl speed. Second, they impart a false twist to the sliver which is held against untwisting by being conveyed between other aprons and then immediately packaged.

The general framework of the apparatus is designated at 215 consisting of two generally horizontal supports providing bearings at 216 for an upper shaft 211 and similar bearings for shaft 218 below it, while there are bearings 219 for shaft 280 and similar bearings for shaft 28| beneath it. The shafts 211 and 280 have a framework designated generally 282 slidably mounted upon them with rolls 283 and 285 in the frame 28,2 and on each of these shafts respectively, while a second separate frame 282 is slidably arranged upon the shafts y218 and 28|, with rolls 284 and 286 within the frame `and respectively slidably supported upon the shafts 218 and 28| An upper belt 281 encircles the rolls 283 :and 285 While the lower belt 288 encircles the rolls 284 and 286. These belts will be substantially in contact and provide a means of forwardly feeding the sliver which is received from the dynamic funnel to be fed through the belts to the conveying aprons |89 and |96. Each of these belts is maintained at the desired tension by a tension roll 281' and 288 which may be adjusted to desired position by any known means. The drive for forwardly feeding the aprons is through gear 289 and corresponding gear 290 beneath it, these gears being suitably driven from the shaft 240 in any convenient manner, as by sprocket chain 242, driving gear 243 on shaft 211.

From the above description it will be apparent that the framev 282 may be laterally reciprocated by sliding upon the shafts 211 and 280 while the frame 282' may be laterally reciprocated by sliding upon the shafts 218 and 28|. In order that there will be a rolling action had by the aprons upon the sliver as it is fed forward, these frames with their belts will'be reciprocated in opposite directions and will thereby cause a rolling of the sliver to cause twist to be put in at the head portion of the sliver Where it enters between 'the aprons and twist to be put in the tail of the sliver as it emerges from the aprons. Reciprocat-ion of a frame in one direction will be equal to the length of time that a point on the sliver requires to pass from the entrance of the nip of the rolls The length 283, 284 to its emergence from the nip of rolls 285 and 286, and during that time of passage the fibers will be held by the belts so that the false twist which is put into it cannot escape and thus false twist will be added to it as it emerges from between these aprons.

Each of the belts 281 and 288 are of leather and while the surface of this leather may under some conditions be suitable for sufficiently frictioning with the sliver to roll the same without sliding along the sliver, I have found that the rolling actionv of these belts may be improved by coating the surface .with a latex product placed on the market under the trade-name Vultex.

A coating 321 (see Fig. 15) of this material will adhere to the leather belts and when allowed to harden will so grip the fibers of the sliver as to roll the same without any lost motion or slid` ing of the bers and yet the fibers will not stick to the surface of Vultex thus formed. This material is flowed onto the surface of the aprons,

buries'the joint of the aprons, and may readily be patched if thev aprons are scratched, due to some accident or other. This material before hardening is soluble in water and there is about 50 per cent of solids in the solution which is applied.

The material after flowing on may be left to dry in the air and may be applied either with or without a priming coat of latex. Latex, however, has some penetrating effect into the leather and serves to provide a little better adhering coating to the leather than when the coating is used without a priming coat of latex.

The reciprocating of these aprons 281 and 288 with the frames carrying them is accomplished by a strap 29| extending about the pulley 292 with one of its ends 29| a attached to the lower frame 282 while its other end 29|b is attached to the upper frame 282. A sprocket chain 293 extending about the sprocket gear 294 leads over suitable pulleys 295 and 296 with its ends 291 and 298 attached to the opposite sides of the frames 282 and 282. Thus, oscillationof the sprocketgear 294 will cause opposite movements of the two frames. This sprocket gear 294 is mounted upon a shaft 299.

This shaft 299 is driven in opposite directions by means of the reversing mechanism within the gear box 300. (See in this connection Figs. 18, 19, and 20.) The main drive shaft 30| in this gear box is driven through gear 302, and there is fixed upon this shaft worms 303 and 304, also spiral gears 305 and 306. Worms 303 and 304 drive worm gears 301 and 308 on shafts 309 and 3|0 on each of which shafts there are mounted cams 3|| and 3|2 which run in contact with cam follower roller 3|3 mounted upon shaft 299 which is rockably mounted by a suitable pivoted bearing 3|4 (see Fig. 19) supported on the casing, there being a slot 3|5 in the casing to permit of sliding movement of the shaft with reference thereto. A plate 3|6 is urged by spring 3|1 to maintain this opening closed for retaining such lubricant as may be contained within the casing and to preventl the entrance of foreign matter thereinto.

Spiral gear 305 drives the upright shaft 3|9 through spiral gear 320 on this upright shaft, while the spiral gear 306 drives spiral gear 32| mounted upon upright shaft 322. A worm 323 is fixed upon the shaft 3|9, while a worm 324 is fixed upon shaft 322, each of which is adapted to engage with and drive worm gear 325 fixed upon shaft 299 and which is alternately rocked by means of the cams engaging follower 3|3 from one side to the other back and forth to alternately engage worm wheels 323 and 324 and thus to impart alternate rotary motion to the gear 294 and to the frames 282 and 282.

Lubricant may be contained in the casing 300 so that all of these gears may operate in a lubricant that their life may be prolonged and the operation quiet.

The particular type of reciprocating motion for the controller may be varied; in Fig, 23 I have illustrated a different arrangement, one which may be satisfactorily utilized under certain operating conditions and here I have illustrated a casing 200 in which there are xed parallel shafts 20|, 202, while between them there is a driven shaft 203. The shaft 20| has gear 204 fixed upon one of its ends which is driven from the shaft 240 by a suitable connection in the same manner as gear 302 would be driven from the shaft 240; while shaft 202 is geared to operate in unison with shaft 20| through connecting gears 205, intermediate gear 206, and gear 201 fixed on shaft 202. There is a cylinder 20|' upon shaft 20| and a cylinder 202 upon shaft 202, each with a single helical tooth 208 and 208 thereon, while on shaft 203 between these shafts 20| and 202 there is a drum or cylinder 203 upon which there is a helical tooth 209. 'I'he helical teeth 208 and 200' extend oppositely of the cylinders 20|' and 202', while the tooth 209 extends helically a complete revolution about the cylinder 203'.

As rotation occurs, tooth 208 will drive shaft 203 through tooth 209 and cylinder 203 in one direction and, as the engagement of tooth 208 ceases at the end of a half revolution of the cylinder 20|', the tooth 20B' will come into engagement with the tooth 209 and drive cylinder 203' in the opposite direction until this tooth has expended its effort at the opposite end of the cylinder 202', whereupon the tooth 208 will again pick up the tooth 209 and again reverse the rotation oi' the cylinder 203. Thus, there will be imparted to gear 294 opposite rotary motion.

The particular construction of controller is not vital to the flow line of the work through the machine; and as an alternate construction I have shown a different controller in Figs. 4 and 7-10 of the drawings. This alternate type of controller is more complicated than the former one described but is more positive in its operation. This alternate controller consists essentially of a pair of traveling aprons and |0|', for example of leather, which receive the sliver 266 and feed it through at a fixed speed and which aprons are revolved about the center of the sliver as an axis to put into the sliver 266 before it enters between the traveling aprons some false twist. During the time the sliver is between the aprons, it is held so no twist is imparted to it. These aprons are revolved about the center of the sliver as an axis first in one direction and then in the other direction; the length of time during this revolution of the aprons about the work as a center in one direction is the same as the length of time for the feed of a point on the sliver through the aprons whereby the sliver isheld against losing any false twist put in the head of the sliver by revolutions of the aprons in the Same direction but operating upon the tail of the twist. Further twist is added when the sliver leaves the feeding holding aprons as these aprons will be revolving oppositely to add further false twist in the same direction as the sliver leaves the aprons. The controller for accomplishing this result is in general a pair of traveling aprons to which power is applied in two different, ways inasmuch as their function is two-fold and each action must have its own drive. First, the aprons are to receive the sliver from the funnel, or other previous mechanism, and feed it through at a fixed speed. Second, they are to impart false twist to the sliver, which means that the whole assembly must be rotated first in one direction and then the opposite way.

For convenience in appl-ying the two drives, the apron assembly is mounted inside a cylindrical drum, or piece of tubing, which is mounted in a pair of ball bearings because it must be held rmly yet rotate easily. The two driving meehanisms are then applied on the outside of this drum. The alternating rotation is applied directly to the surface of the drum by gearing or other means. The drive for the aprons themselves, for the feeding through of the sliver, is supplied preferably by a belt ata xed speed to a pulley carried on the drum by another ball bearing, so that it is free to move independently of the drum. The power is transmitted from this pulley through a rim gear indirectly to a pinion on a shaft which is mounted at right angles to the axis of the drum and goes through the wall of the drum to drive the aprons inside, through gearing, to produce the correct speed. The gearing which connects the power pulley to this pinion and its shaft will be described in detail later but, in general, it has to produce a compensation for the obvious effect the alternate rotation of the mounting of the pinion and shaft,

y rst in the same direction as the power pulley and then the opposite way, would have on the speed of the feeding drive. It is clear that, without a compensating device, the aprons could not be driven at a steady speed. The difficulty comes from the rotation of the drum and apron mounting first with and then against the power pulley, so, to make the correction automatic for any speed, I use this same alternate rotation to produce the compensation, by reversing lts effect and halving that effect where it works double. The mechanism for doing this will now be described.

A suitable support |02 is provided upon which there are mounted ball bearings designated generally |03 and |04; each of these ball bearings consist of an outer raceway |05 and |06 which is held fixed to the support |02 and an inner raceway |01 and |08 is supported through balls |09 and ||0 and is iixedly secured to a cylindrical drum which may freely rotate in these bearing supports at each of its ends. A gear I2 is also xed to the cylindrical drum which is engaged for imparting rotation in opposite directions to the cylindrical drum. Within the cylindrical drum there is mounted a rectangular tube ||3 by means of end plates ||3' which supports pairs of rolls 4 and ||5 and ||4' and H5'. The rolls ||4 and H4 are at one end of the tube ||3 and the rolls ||5 and ||5' are at the other end of the tube ||3.l An endless belt |0| passes over the two pulleys III and ||5 and another endless belt |0|' embraces the pulleys ||4 and ||5. The pulley ||4 is xed in its mounting and the pulley ||4' is so mounted in a slot ||6 in the tube ||3 that it will be urged toward the pulley ||4 by springs Pulleys l5 and H5 are in slots and are resiliently urged away from the pulleys ||4 and Ill' by means H8 to hold the belts taut.

- trated in Figs. 10 and 11.

These two pulleys I|4 and |I4' are geared together by gears |20 and |20' so as to rotate in unison and the pulley ||4 is driven through the gear |2I, motion being imparted to this gear |2| from the shaft |22 passing through the drum I|| and supported in the ball bearing |23,l this shaft transmitting such motion by reascin of the gears |24, |25 to the gear '|2I. The mechanism for driving shaft |22 will now be described.

A sleeve |26 is fixed by means of support |21 and extends along the cylindrical drum III and is free of the drum so that the drum may rotate relative to the sleeve. The sleeve in turn supports and has fixed to it the inner annular raceway member |30 of a ball bearing which has provided thereon an annular rim gear I3| which being fixed becomes in effect a rack. An outer raceway member |32 is supported through balls |33 and carries fixed to it a rim gear |34 on one side and a belt pulley |35 on the other side, the parts on opposite sides being in two sections held together by bolts |36 to bind the parts onto the outer raceway member |32. A similar construction comprising an inner raceway member |31 having a rim gear |38 thereon is fixed to the cylindrical drum such, for instance, as by a Woodruff key shown, while a companion outer raceway member has mounted thereon two rim gears one on either side designated |4| and |42; these are formed in two sections and are held together by bolts |43 suitably spaced about the annular periphery. The rim gear |4| meshes with the beveled pinion |44 xed as by reason of the set screw |45 upon the shaft |22. The rim gears |42 and |34 are each in mesh with the bevel pinion |46 while the inner rim gears |3I and |38 are each in mesh with the bevel pinion |41. The bevel pinions |46 and |41 are mounted in an annulus which may revolve about the cylindrical drum |I|.

The mounting of this annulus is best illus- There is a channelshaped member |48 fixed to the drum with its side lips |49 extending outwardly from the drum. Two annular plates |50 and |5| are held in spaced relation to each other and also spaced from the channel member |48 by reason of ball bearing wheels |52, |52 which are mounted and held in fixed spaced relation on an axle |53 fixed in the plates |50 and |5I, and as there are four sets of these wheels, see Fig. l0, the plates |50 and I| are held in desired position and yet are free to rotate with reference to the drum while being prevented from movement axially of the drum. At certain desirable locations, preferably at diametrically opposite points for the sake of balance, I have mounted between these plates in a manner so that they will be carried by the plates the pinions |46 and |41. The plates are each cut out as at |53' and a U-shaped support |54 is secured as by pins |55 to the plates' |50 and |5| between them which support provides a mounting for the trunnion pin |56 which in turn mounts the pinion |46. The plates are each also slotted as at |51 for the mounting of pinion |41,/nd here there is provided a U-shaped support |58 secured as by means of pins |59 to the plates |50 and |5| which support mounts the trunnion pin4 |60 for, in turn, supporting the pinion |41.

In order to provide a drive for the opposite rotation of the cylindrical drum III, I may utilize one of the reversing mechanisms heretofore described, and shown in Figs. 1.8-20 of Fig. 23, such as encased in either the casing'200 or 300,

" part of the frame.

the gear 294' or 294 extending from such casing being used for driving the gear ||2 on the cylindrical drum I I.- This gearing may be either direct or through idler pinions in order that the desired speed of rotation and reciprocation '/of the drum may be had.

The packaging device of any known form may be used. That shown is designated generally |15 which is but a skeleton showing of the movable parts involved and is modified from a known form to the extent of providing aprons to convey the work to it. The upright guide frame |16 is slidably mounted upon shafts |11 and |18, each of which slidably supports a iluted roll |19 and |60 to move along its own shaft with the guide frame, while the packaging roll |8| is guided in the groove |82 in the frame and may rise in this groove as the work accumulates thereon. It thus has the same speed of rotation regardless of its diameter. The frame |16 has rigid rearward extensions |85 secured to it which mount upright supports |86, |81. The rearward sup-` ports |81 provide bearings for the lower rolls |88 about which and the roll |80 the lower apron |89 extends. These supports also provide adjustable bearings |90 for upper roll I9I which is slidingly urged toward the lower roll by some suitable means |92. The supports |85 provide adjustable bearings |93 for the upper forward roll I 94 which is slidingly urged toward the apron |89 by some suitable means |95. An apron |96 embraces the rolls |9| and |94 and any slack of this apron or the lower apron |89 is taken up by roll |91 which is adjustably mounted in the support |86. The entire frame |16 with its extensions I 85 and aprons |89 and |96 is traversed by means of a disc secured to the lower A slot |82' is provided in the under surface of the disc to receive the crank pin |83, carried by the rotatable member |84.

The drive for my apparatus may be varied as will be readily understood. I have, however, illustrated one arrangement. Referring more particularly to Fig. 3, I have illustrated schematically the drive of the various moving parts of this apparatus all from a single power shaft 2I0 driven by pulley 2|| from which motion is transmitted to the delivery roll 24 of the cutting unit through a train of gears 2|2, 2I3, and 2|4 thence through shaft 2|5 to other rotating members as 26 and 22 of the cutting unit by beveled gears 2|6, 2|1, shaft 2|8, beveled gears 2|9, 220, 22| 222 and to lower feed roll I1 by bevel gears 223 and 224. The traveling aprons 40 are ro- Iaied from shaft 2|5 through gears 225, 225' and Forwardly from the main drive shaft 2I0 motion may be transmitted to shaft 221 by gears 2|2, 228 and from this shaft by sets of beveled gears 229 and 230 to the helical slotted members 51 foi the faller bars. Drive is also taken from this shaft 221 for the receiving roll 52 on shalt 23| driven through the train of gears 232, 233, 234, 234 and 235. The delivery roll 59 of the Y gill box may be driven from the shaft 221 by gears 236, 231, 238, 239, and shaft 240 upon which it is mounted.

From the shaft 240 drive is taken for the dynamic funnel by means of sprocket gears and chain 24| to the reduced trunnion of roll 94 and by means of the gear 64, chain 65, gear 66, shaft 61, spiral gear 68, spiral gear 69 on the shaft 10 for the other aprons; the further drive of the dynamic funnel from this point has been explained. The drive for the feed of the controller 2,284,535 is-taken from the shaft 24|! (see also Figi) by means of the gear 24| or pulley 24|', sprocket chain 242, or belt 242' and gear 243 or pulley 243' on shaft 211, or 244. The drive for the reciprocation of the controller is taken from shaft 24|) by means of gear 245, sprocket chain 246, gear 302, to gear box '300 which imparts reciprocating motion, as above explained, to the gear 294 and sprocket chain 293 for feeding belts 281 and 288 driven about the rolls 283, 285, or

Ato gear ||2 (see Fig. 4) by suitable transmission from a gear box such as above described.

Motion is also taken from shaft 240 to the packaging unit by means of gears 252, sprocket chain 253 to sprocket gear 254 which is on shaft |18 which in t'urn drives'shaft |11 through gears 255, 256, 251 while the traversing motion is caused by shaft 259 driven by gears 260, 26|, 262, and operates the crank |83 by beveled gears 263, 264, the latter of which is on the vertical shaft 265. In this manner it will be apparent that the entire apparatus is arranged to be driven synchronously through all of the parts operating in a certain definite timed relation. Further details of the operation will now be described.

The belts 281, 288 are reciprocated (or if the drum is used, it is rotated in first one direction and then in the opposite direction) for imparting of false twist to the work. Some false twist is imparted at the point between the delivery of the work from the dynamic funnel and its entrance between the belts of the controller twisting the leading end of any given section of sliver. As motion occurs in one direction, twist is put into the Work as it is fed forward, and this twisted'work is gripped by the aprons and held against any further twist or untwisting as long as it is between the aprons. The period of time that any one point of the work travels through the aprons and thus is gripped and held within the. aprons will be the period of time of twisting between the dynamic condenser and the controller. As the work emerges at 265, see Fig. 2, the controller will be moving in the opposite direction from that when twist was first put in at 266 and, therefore, additional false twist will be put in the work because the rolls will operate upon the back end of the said given section of sliver and the sliver will then be packaged before there has been any chance for a loss of the twist. This holding of the work so that it cannot be untwisted during the period of rotation in one direction enables me to put in further false twist rather than to extract a false twist already put into the work as happens with a twisting mechanism which holds the sliver at only one point.

The controller consisting of the reciprocating aprons will receive the sliver from the funnel and by reason of their forward driving motion feed the sliver between them. As this sliver is fed forward by` these aprons the aprons 281, 288 will oppositely reciprocate so as to roll the sliver and impart false twist to the sliver at the head end of the sliver as it enters the aprons and at the tail of the sliver as it emerges from the aprons. During the time that the sliver is between the aprons and being rolled no twist is imparted to this portion of the sliver held between the aprons, and as each portion of the sliver receiving twist is fed into the aprons the twist is held in the sliver and thus the false twist imparted at the head end is held in the sliver as it passes through the aprons while when it emerges from the aprons the aprons have changed theirdirection of reciprocation so that more twist is put into the sliver at'the tail of the twist rimparted and then the sliver is directly engaged by the traveling aprons |89 and |96 and moved to the balling device beforeany of the false twist has an opportunity to escape.

Should use of the alternate controller be made and if we assume that they drum I is stationary, motion from the belts 242 will be transmitted through the pulley |35 and rim gear |34 which rotates therewith through the pinion |46 to rim gear |42 and rim gear |4| traveling therewith thence to bevel gear |44, shaft |22, gears |24, |25 and |2| to the driven pulley ||4 and through gears |20 and |20' to driven pulley ||4. The situation which I have just assumed is one which occurs in the operation of the device only momentarily at the time of reversal of rotation inasmuch as the cylindrical drum is revolved first in one direction and then in the opposite direction; accordingly a problem for driving the aprons |0| and |0|' continuously in the same direction is presented as the opposite rotation and straight drive will cause an increase or decrease of the drive for the aprons. I have accomplished this drive by a compensating device whereby the rotation of the drum will not effect the driving of these two endless aprons, by causing a compensating differential movement to be actuated by the rotation of the drum itself for effecting this result.

There will of course be rotation between the pinion gear and the gears with which the pinion meshesdependent upon the relative number of teeth on the gear and pinion, but for the purposes of illustrationl the turning effect of the revolutions of the `drum about the axis of the work as the center of the pinion gears will demonstrate the results accomplished, and for illustrative purposes, I will arbitrarily assume that the pulley |35 is driven six turns a second and that the member 200 causes a rotation of the drum about the axis of the work as the center four turns in a second in one direction and then four turns in the next second in the other direction, alternatingly. of rotation of the drum is against the rotation of the pulley |35, We would have if the rim gear |34 were engaging directly with the gear |44 an increased turning effect on the gear |44 which would be equivalent to the sum of six turns of the pulley |35, and consequently rim gear |34, plus the turning effect of four revolutions of the drum which would make a total equivalent to the turning eifect of ten revolutions of the rim gear |34 upon the shaft |22 if the shaft |22 were stationary, and it would be clear that under these same circumstances if the rotation of the drum were with the pulley 35, we would have if the rim gear |34 were engaging directly with the gear |44 a decreased turning effect on the gear |44 which would be equivalent to the difference of the six turns of the pulley |35, and consequently rim gear |34 minus the turning eiect of four revolutions of the drum which would make a total equivalent to the turning effect of two revolutions of the rim gear |34 upon the shaft '|22 if shaft |22 were stationary. The correction must be made so that the drive or revolutions of pulley |35 are so transmitted that the equal of six effective revolutions of the pulley |35 are transmitted to the gear |44; that is, the low speed plus the effect of four revolutions must equal the high speed minus the effect of four revolutions which in both cases must equal the effective speed of the pulley |35. I ar- If we assume that the direction range that compensation will be caused by the drum to exercise a force upon the driving mechanism for the aprons. I accomplish this result by utilizing the alternating rotation of the drum to produce through an intermediate pinion a variable speed on rim gears 4| and |42 in a direction opposite to that of the pulley |35. This action is explained more fully later.

When the drum is rotated four revolutions a second opposite to the direction of rotation of the pulley |35 which has six revolutions a second, the member |31 is causing the annulus carrying pinion |41 to revolve in the same direction as the rotation of the drum but by reason of the fixed rim gear |3| which practically becomes a rack, the pinion will travel just half as fast about the axis of the work as a center, as the drum or member |31 rotates or instead of making four revolutions it and the plates |50, |5| in which it is mounted will make two revolutions a second. This motion of the plates |50 and |5| which carry the pinion |46 which transmits motion from the rim gear |34 driven directly with the pulley to the gear |42, inasmuch as it is traveling in the direction ofthe drum and which is against the direction of the pulley, will cause additional turning effect to be transmitted through the pinion 46 from rim gear |34 to rim gear |42 but driving it in opposite direction to that of pulley |35.

To determine the value of the additional turning effect, I must consider two factors. that the pulley |35 and the gear |34 were stationary and the annulus rotated two revolutions per second carrying the pinion. |46 with. it, then the turning effect of two revolutions of the pulley |35 would be applied to the pinion |46 to rotate the pinion about its center trunnions |56 and this additional turning effect would be applied tol the rim gear |42. Further, if the annulus freely rotated two revolutions per second and the pinion |46 were stationary, there would be given to the rim gear |42 with which pinion |46 meshes -the effect of two revolutions per second. Thus the total `additional turning effect is 2-2 revolutions or when the six revolutions of the pulley |35 is included in the sum, I have 6+2+2=10 as the turning effect in revolutions which is `trans- 'mitted to the gear |42 and consequently to the pinion |44. Now, inasmuch as the pinion |44 is carried in the same direction as the rotation of the member |39 and rim gear |4|, the turning effect upon the bevel gear |44 will be the turning effect of the ten revolutions of the rim gear |4| minus the turning effect of four revolutions of the bevel gear |44, (l-4:6) or the turning effect of six revolutions so that the pulley |35 will have transmitted to the bevel gear |44 thev turning effect of six revolutions per second on the bevel gear |44.

Now assuming the same numerical revolution Ibut that the drum -is turning in the same direction as the pulley |35 then the member |37 is causing the annulus carrying pinion |4'| to revolve in the same direction as the rotation of the drum but by reason of thefxed rim gear |3| which practically becomes .a rack, the pinion will travel just half as fast about the axis of the work as a center, as the drum or member |31 rotates or instead of making four revolutions it and the plates |50, |5| in which it is mounted will make two revolutions a second. This motion of the plates |50 and |5| which carry the pinion |46 which transmits motion from the rim gear |34 driven directly with the Assume pulley to the gear |42, inasmuch as it is traveling in the direction of the drum and which is also the direction of the pulley will cause less turningeffect to be transmitted through the pinion |46 from rim gear |34 to rim gear |42.

To determine the value of the less turning effect, I must consider the above two factors. Assume that the pulley |35 and gear |34 were stationary and the annulus rotated two revolutions per second carrying the pinion |46 with it, then the turning effect of two revolutions ofthe pulley |35 would be applied to the pinion |46 to rotate the pinion about its center trunnions |56 and this less turning effect would be applied to the rim gear |42. Further, if the annulus freely rotated two revolutions per second and the pinion |46 were stationary, there would be given to the rim gear |42 with which the pinion |46 meshes the effect of two revolutions per second. Thus the total less turning effect is -2-2 revolutions or when the six revolutions of the pulley |35 is included in the total, I have 6-2-2=2 as the turning effect in revolutions which is transmitted to the gear |42 and consequently to the pinion |44. Now, inasmuch as the pinion |44 is carried in the same direction as the rotation of the member |39 and rim gear |4|, the turning effect upon the bevel gear |44 will be the turning effect of four revolutions of the bevel gear |44, (2l-4=6) or the turning effect of six revolutions per second on the bevel gear |44. It will thus be seen from a comparison of these two assumed directions of rotation of the drum the motion transmitted to the shaft |22 will be the same and thus the endless aprons |0| and |0|' would travel in the same direction and at the same speed as operated by the pulley |35 regardlessof the alternate directions of rotation of the drum After the work leaves the controller itis con` Veyed by the aprons |89 and |96 to the packaging apparatus and as these aprons and the packaging apparatus are laterally traversed together the sliver will be laid between the aprons |89 and |96 in a sinuous path.` Therefore, the surface Speed of the aprons will be slightly less than the surface speed of the feed aprons of the controller, the difference being commensurable with the take-up of the sinuosity of the work between the aprons. This is somewhat different from the general arrangement through the machine where each succeeding conveyor apron, as the work progresses through the machine, usually has slightly greater surface speed so as to cause some little tension to be applied to the work.

This former arrangement of the controller is a much simpler form of apparatus than that previously described and thus one more simple to manufacture and is one which will supply the desired false twist for effecting a packaging of the sliver.

From the above, it will be clearly apparent that I have provided a satisfactory operating apparatus for the continuous now of work from the rope form into spinnable staple ber sliver form without the necessity ofpackaging or handling the work in any manner from the receiving of the same to the delivery, and I have imparted false twist to the work sufficient to prevent a licking of the sliver as it is drawn from the package for further operations. The sliver, while having several operations performed upon it, is

not subjected to friction or other detrimental disturbing elements which are sometimes existent in the Working of textile fibers.

I claim:

1. A step in the method of handling fibers to form asliver which consists in feeding the fibers continuously and while so feeding imparting to the fibers, a first stage of false twist, arresting and holding the twist placed in the fiber during forward movement and then subsequently imparting to the fiber a further false twistin the same direction.

2. 'I'he method of handling fibers which consists in engaging the fibers in sliver-like formation between broad forwardly advancing surfaces and while so engaged rotating said sliver first in one direction and then in the other direction by oppositely reciprocating said surfaces to roll the sliver and impart false twist to the sliver immediately preceding and immediately following the surfaces engaged.

3. The method of handling fibers which consists in engaging the fibers in sliver-like formation between broad forwardly advancing surfaces and while so engaged rotating said engaging surfaces'first in one direction and then in the other direction, the timing relation between such 'opposite rotations being such that the reversal will occur when a point first engaging said surfaces is fed forwardly t0 an extent to commence to emerge from the surfaces.

4. An apparatus for handling sliver comprising opposed forwardly travelling aprons for receiving between them and feeding sliver, means for oppositely reciprocating said aprons to roll the sliver to impart false twist to the sliver at the head and tail ends of the aprons, the timing relation between such opposite reciprocations be- 1 ing such that the reversal of motion in each direction will occur substantially when a point first engaging said aprons is fed forwardly to an extent to commence to emerge from the aprons.

5. A device for revolving a sliver about its longitudinal axis comprising rolls to longitudinally feed the sliver, means to revolve the rolls first in one direction and then in the opposite direction about the center of the work as an axis and drive means to rotate the rolls for feeding the work longitudinally at the same speed regardless of the opposite revolving of the rolls, said driving means including compensating means in the drive actuated in time withI the opposite revolution of said rolls.

6. The step in the method of handling fibers to form a sliver which consists in feeding the fibers and placing false twist therein in the same direction of twist in two different stages while arresting and holding the twist first put in the sliver between said stages.

7. The step in the method of handling fibers to form a sliver which consists in feeding the fibers continuously and while so feeding imparting to the fibers a first stage of false twist in one direction, arresting and holding while advancing the twist initially placed in the fiber and at the same time imparting to fibers in a different stretch of the sliver a twist in the opposite direction.

8. The step in the method of handling fibers to form a sliver which consists in feeding the fibers continuously and while so feeding imparting to the fibers a first stage of false twist in one direcr tion, arresting and holding while advancing the twist initially placed in the fiber and at the same time imparting to fibers in a different stretch of the sliver a twist in the opposite direction and then imparting to the fibers initially twisted,

after twisting is arrested, a further false twist in the initial direction.

9. The step in the method of handling fibers to form a sliver which consists in feeding the fibers continuously and while so feeding imparting to the fibers a first stage of false twist in one direcltion, arresting and holding while advancing the /twist initially placed in the fiber and at the saine time imparting to fibers in a different stretch of the sliver a twist in the opposite direction and then imparting to the fibers initially twisted after twisting is arrested a further false twist in the initial direction and then similarly treating the fibers twisted in the opposite direction.

10. The method of handling fibers which consists in engaging the fibers in sliver-like formation between broad forwardly advancing surfaces and while so engaged rotating said sliver first in one direction and then in the other direction by oppositely reciprocating said surfaces to roll the sliver and impart false twist to the sliver immediately preceding and immediately following the surfaces engaged, the timing relation between such opposite reciprocations being such that the reversal will occur when aA point first engaging said surfaces is fed forwardly to an extent to commence to emerge from the surfaces.

l1. An apparatus for` handling sliver comprising opposed forwardly traveling aprons for receiving between them and feeding sliver, means for oppositely reciprocating said aprons to roll the sliver to impart false twist to the sliver at the head and tail ends of the aprons, the timing relation between such opposite reciprocations being such that the reversal of motion in each direction will occur substantially when a point first engaging said aprons is fed forwardly to an extent to commence to emerge from the aprons.

12. An apparatus for handling sliver comprising opposed forwardly traveling aprons for receiving between them and feeding sliver, means for oppositely reciprocating said aprons to roll `the sliver to impart false twist to the sliver at the head and tail ends of the aprons, and means for feeding said aprons in unison to advance the Work between them while reciprocating, the timing relation between such opposite reciprocations being such that the reversal of motion in each direction will occur substantially when a point first engaging said aprons is fed forwardly to an extent to commence to emerge from the aprons.

13. An apparatus for handling sliver comprising a pair of opposed frames, rolls carried by each frame, an endless apron about the rolls of each frame, parallel drive shafts, one through one of the rolls of each frame, means for driving said shafts to drive the aprons of each frame that their opposed parallel surfaces may move togethor, and 'means to slide said frames in opposite directions on the shafts extending through said rolls, the timing relation between such opposite reciprocations being such that the reversal of motion in each direction will occur substantially when a point first engaging said aprons is fed forwardly to an extent to commence to emerge from the aprons.

i4. An apparatus for handling sliver comprisa pair of opposed frames, rolls carried by each frameY an endless apron about the rolls of each frame, parallel drive shafts one through one of the rolls of each frame, means for driving said shafts to drive the aprons of eachframe that their opposed parallel surfaces may move together, means to slide said frames in opposite dil frames operable in time with the driving means' for said shafts, the timing relation between such opposite reciprocations being such that the reversal of motion in each direction will occur substantially when a point rst engaging said aprons is fed forwardly to an extent to commence to emerge from the aprons.

15. A device for revolving a sliver about its longitudinal axis comprising rolls to longitudinally feed the sliver, means to revolve the rolls first in one direction and then in the opposite direction about the center of the work as an axis and drive means to rotate the rolls for feeding the work longitudinally at the same speed regardless of the opposite revolving of the rolls.

16. A device for revolving a sliver about its longitudinal axis comprising rolls to longitudinally feed the sliver, means to revolve the rolls first in one direction. and then in the opposite direction about the center of the work as an axis and drive means to rotate the rolls for feeding the work longitudinally at the same speed regardless of the opposite revolving of the rolls, said driving means including compensating gearing in the drive actuated in time with the opposite revolution of said rolls to change the effect of the revolutions f said rolls on the driving means.

17. A device for revolving a sliver about its longitudinal axis comprising traveling aprons to longitudinally feed the sliver, means to revolve the aprons alternately in opposite direction about the center of the work as an axis, and drive means to move the aprons for feeding the work longitudinally at the same speed regardless of the opposite revolving of the aprons.

18. A device for revolving a sliver about its longitudinal axis comprising opposed pairs of rolls to longitudinally feed the sliver, aprons about said pairs of rolls, means to revolve the aprons alternately in opposite direction about the center of the work as an axis, and drive means to rotate the rolls for feedingv the work longitudinally at the same speed regardless of the opposite revolving of the rolls.

19. A device for revolving a sliver about its longitudinal axis comprising opposed pairs of rolls to longitudinally feed the sliver, aprons about said pairs of rolls, means to revolve the aprons alternately in opposite direction about thecenter of the Work as an axis, and .dive means to rotate the rolls for feeding the work longitudinally at the same speed regardless of the opposite revolving of the rolls, said driving means including compensating gearing in the drive actuated in time with the opposite revolution of said rolls to change the effect of the revolutions of said rolls on the driving means.

NELSON 'STUART CAMPBELL. 

